Mariners end successful road trip

They've found out they don't have to wait to the last minute before scoring.

Seattle went 5-2 on a seven-game road trip, and in every game, they scored in either the first or second inning. And in three of the seven games, including Sunday's 2-1 win over Tampa Bay in St. Petersburg, they scored in both the first and second.

The Mariners scored 38 runs in the seven games, and 22 of the runs scored came in either the first or the second inning.

It's clear that the Mariners still have to learn how to score more consistently. In the three games against the Rays, Seattle scored just two runs after the second inning.

But the most significant part of the trip was that Seattle overcame all that to win five times. Learning to win has been difficult for the Mariners, but manager Eric Wedge is hoping this is a sign that learning is happening.

"It was a real good road trip," Wedge said. "The two losses we did have were walkoffs, so they were tight ballgames throughout. These guys played tough."

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MLB Team Report - Seattle Mariners - NOTES, QUOTES

--LHP Jason Vargas won his 10th game of the season Saturday, matching his career high set last season. The difference is he won No. 10 with 10 weeks left in the season this year; a year ago he won it in his last start of the year. He's started 13 games following a team loss, including Saturday, and is 9-2 with a 2.91 ERA in those starts.

--LF Casper Wells got his first chance to lead off for the Mariners Sunday as 2B Dustin Ackley got the day off. Wells, who led off twice last season for Detroit as a rookie, is the seventh player to lead off for Seattle this season. The others: Chone Figgins, Ichiro Suzuki, Ackley, John Jaso, Brendan Ryan and Michael Saunders. "Wells has been putting up competitive at-bats," manager Eric Wedge said. Wells doubled in the first inning, setting up the first of the club's two runs.

--3B Chone Figgins was the third baseman heading into the season. But when LF Michael Carp was injured in the opener in Tokyo, Figgins moved to left field before eventually being demoted to bench duty. Sunday's start was just the fourth at third base for Figgins this season.

--RHP Blake Beavan pitched eight innings Sunday, the deepest he's gone into a game either in the big leagues or minor leagues this season. Beavan threw 101 pitches and didn't walk anyone in improving to 5-6. It's the seventh time Beavan has made it through a start without allowing a walk.

--RF Ichiro Suzuki, perennial Gold Glove winner, made defensive mistakes in back-to-back games against the Rays, including his first error of the season. On Friday, he overthrew the cutoff man, then picked up the error Saturday when his throw to first base bounced past 3B Kyle Seager. On Sunday, however, he made a leaping catch at the wall to take away extra bases from Carlos Pena, making sure a one-run rally by the Rays wasn't worse.

--1B Mike Carp's 20-day stint on an injury-rehabilitation assignment ends on Monday. The Mariners have to decide if his injured right shoulder is going to allow him to join the big league club or if he needs to stay on the disabled list. They are leaning toward bringing him back. "We'll wait to the very end to completely evaluate and make a decision," manager Eric Wedge said, "but he's been playing a lot of first base and getting a lot of ABs, and that's what you're looking for."

--C/DH Jesus Montero had an RBI double and a single in his first two at-bats Sunday. That was the capper to a big road trip in which he went 12-for-26 (.462) with nine RBIs.

--CF Franklin Gutierrez is still dealing with occasional headaches in the wake of the concussion he suffered on June 28, when hit behind the right ear by a pickoff throw. He will be checked out by Mariners medics on Monday.

--3B Kyle Seager, who got a rare start at second base Sunday, came into the game with 58 RBIs, the most by any MLB player under the age of 25. Seager, who is 24, led the Braves' 22-year-old Freddie Freeman (56), the Marlins' 22-year-old Giancarlo Stanton (50), the Astros' 24-year-old J.D. Martinez (50) and the Royals' 23-year-old Mike Moustakas (49).

BY THE NUMBERS: 12 -- Consecutive games without an error, a club record that ended Saturday. Seattle, leading the league in defense, has three stretches of 10 or more games without an error.